I used to camp as a youngster with my family. After I retired, I told the wife I would like to start camping again. She had never camped and was not to thrilled about it. Since I wanted to do it she said ok and we found a class A gas that we both liked. We just traded for a 42 class A DP and now she has camping with drawl when we get back home. She likes:

our bath room
our kitchen
our bed
Dogs and cat goes with us and they are not stressed
we can stop when we want and not worry if a hotel will take our pets. At times it cost more for our pets than for us.
she can go to the bath room when she needs to
can make something to eat when she is hungry.
can get a drink with ice whenever she wants.
W
e also use the RV as a base and use the car to travel around to sight see and do things. We use the 100 mile rule.

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Then sit down together to plan out your stops and route to see all of the baseball parks and museums all over this beautiful country.

Let her drive her luxurious and comfortable Lexus SUV and you can drive the RV. When it come times to stop she can pay you for the luxurious hotel room you have on wheels versus renting some fleabag hotel room with bedbugs.

Use the money to put towards the monthly payment for the loan.

You should have the RV paid off in no time!

If that plan doesn't work then there is always Divorce Court as seen on TV.

Go for it! I was very young when I started camping in tents. Graduated to a small trailer then a popup. After early retirement I went full time. This is my third coach and I hope my last.

I married 4 years ago. DW has had some problems adjusting to room limitations but finds the freedom to go a great plus. This coach is the best we could find for our volunteer lifestyle. We moved in in May. The old one couldn't handle fulltiming as we do it.

If you need bells and whistles go bigger but use this floorplan as your DWs most desirable base start. Go to RV shows and just browse dealer lots when you can. Find out what is available in features and learn what the names mean when the sales person throws one at you by doing a independent study. Not all sales people know what they are talking about.

The only drawback I see with the over 40' rig, other than financial, is you are more limited as to where you can park. Older RV parks, Corp of Engineer parks, local, state and federal parks are often older designs with smaller camping pads, and roads with tight or impossible turns for the larger units.

Towing your car is another consideration that you must address when you go RVing. Can the one you have be towed at all?

One post mentioned renting a RV. If your DW is as sensitive as you indicate you MUST rent something close to what you would consider buying. If she were to have a bad experience because the design layout was not to her liking that could spell doom to your hopes.

Thanks everyone for your unbelievable input. You all are the greatest! I got home from work today to find 30 responses to my post, far beyond my expectations.
The suggestions and ideas offered are well taken. I'm going to have DW read the thread and see what it does to convince her. Having our own bed and kitchen are the two points I've been bringing up a lot, but bathroom and social aspect are also great points.
We live in a Phoenix, AZ suburb and are thinking we have 8+ months of the most gorgeous weather, but nearly 4 months where the excessive heat makes us yearn to "get out of town" and that's when we would travel - kind of reverse snowbirds. Hotels for 4 months seems like it would get really old fast. How about that long in a MH? Does the fun wear thin after a certain time?
Thanks again for the information. Jim

How about that long in a MH? Does the fun wear thin after a certain time?
Thanks again for the information. Jim

I think you could handle 4 months easily!

I've been living in my Windsor for almost 10 years now and before that I had a 1992 Air Stream Landyacht with no slides. I lived in that for over one year. In that coach, my dog and I would do the doe-se-doe in the main isle whenever I wanted to walk from one room to the other. That got old real quick.

Hotels for 4 months seems like it would get really old fast. How about that long in a MH? Does the fun wear thin after a certain time?
Thanks again for the information. Jim

Everyone is different; none of us can tell you how you will fare in an RV for 4 months. Again... RENT before you buy. Once you make that "investment" in an RV you are looking at losing big bucks if it doesn't work for you.

Hi. DW of Chilerick here. Like Janet H I was a reluctant RVer. For me, camping is a 3 star hotel without room service.

I love to travel. I spent a career traveling in nice hotels and never lost my enjoyment of that travel style. We have always cruised and stayed in nice hotels for vacations. Then it happened. Our kids moved away and with them our in home dog sitter. The dog doesn't kennel well and so we were faced with a choice. Travel with the dog or don't travel. Not traveling was not an option. When the prospect of traveling in an RV was suggested, we went to RV shows and l visited several CGs. I thought the RVs were ok, but what I witnessed in those RV parks and campgrounds was not for me and at one point I refused to even look at another RV.

We researched our options for 2 years. 2 years with no travel. How was I convinced? Did I suddenly have a desperate urge to camp? Did the bright shiny MHs with satellite TV change my mind? Did the idea of cooking on my vacation appeal to me? Heck no. The RV simply provided the best solution for us for what we wanted and needed at least in the short term and we agreed to give it a try for 5 years and reevaluate at that time.

Over the last 2 summers, I have come to truly enjoy traveling this way. All of the things many others have said ring true. Sleeping in my own bed, using my own bathroom, not having to find a place to eat a meal, and the dog is always there. Just like when we cruise, I appreciate taking the same accommodations place to place. Enjoying the journey as well as the destination. We have found some terrific places to park the RV and we are getting better at finding more of them. The truth is, there is not always a great place to park the RV and when we can't find a nice place, I'll be honest, I get cranky.

You aren't going to convince anyone to like something they don't think they are going to like. They need to have a reason to consider it. For me the dog was the reason and the best option was the RV. As an added benefit, we can now travel on land like we do on the sea and we can be away for months rather than days or weeks and be very comfortable.

I hope you find the best option to see what you want to see that works best for both of you.

I think it would be easier to find a hotel room near the field with a shuttle to the game, and the parking at home may not work.
You both need to really want to do it as its a hobby. Can't stop laughing about the get a dog comment. Funny! Our great Dane loves rving.

Agree, the best post of them all is "Get a Dog"! Since we now have the RV my wife has been pestering me that it is time for us to enjoy the comforts of the four legged furry ones again after losing our two best pups five years ago.
Back on topic, when my wife and I married nine years ago we started looking to upgrade or sticks n bricks. Almost pulled the trigger on a couple of nice houses. Best piece of advice received was you can pay off a mortgage but you can't pay off property taxes. So we re-thought what do we like to do? Answer, get out of "Dodge" as often as possible. The RV bulb lit up like the morning sun. We did not spend years going over 100's of models, or dozens of dealers or try to replace everything in our house into a 35ft. box on wheels. We found out brands we liked, waited for a good used one to become available locally and jumped right in. In our sixth year now part time RV'ing we are learning new things and adventures with every trip. The ability to dream of all the beautiful, the different, unique, destinations you want to go on for that next trip, whether a weekend get away or long trip excites our souls. Our schedule, our food, our wake up call, the birds chirping in the morning outside the RV window makes us yearn for retirement to enjoy this lifestyle to the fullest.

Since your wife is already somewhat resistant, I would suggest you rent the biggest, most luxurious RV you can find and afford for your first trip. As for her car, you can always tow it, either on a 2-wheel dolly or a trailer. For your first trip, leave the car behind and rent one at your destination if you need to.

There is a LOT to be said for having your own bed, bathroom, and kitchen. Camping in an RV is as complicated or simple as you make it. Any restaurant that delivers wherever you are will also deliver to the RV parks. Most RV parks near attractions are also near the best restaurants and shopping. The biggest difference between RV parks and hotels, IMHO, is no one comes to make the bed for you & no shared walls.

You probably won't save a lot of money traveling by RV, because what you don't spend on hotels and dining out will be spent on fuel, but you'll have a LOT more fun and be a LOT more comfortable.

Susan

Hi, we sold our house last Fall and we're at it full time, to supplement our income we camp host in the Summer and travel South for the Winter, as we will be leaving Jan 1 on a trip. enjoy yourself and don't worry about leaving money to your kids, you work hard for what you want to do, so just do it and deal with all the up and down of what life will throw at you, good luck and be safe.

Here's another (somewhat weird) suggestion.. There are all sorts of ways to camp. Fancy private parks that cater to big rigs are substantially different than rural and secluded corps of engineers parks or state Parks. Most of us have strong preferences about the sort of place we prefer.

Some folks like amenities and services. Many private parks have pools, yoga classes, exercise rooms (just like a hotel), gift shop, etc. State parks have privacy and natural beauty, hiking trails, etc but very few other services.

Get in the car and visit some campgrounds. Park in the visitor parking and walk through the camping area. Be tourists. Talk to folks, tell them you're considering a change and ask for input - you may get some cool responses. It may also help you decide if this is for you and if it is, whether you might be interested in a towable trailer and truck combo or a motorhome. There are good arguments to be made for each, but often the sorts of places you want to camp may drive this choice. As an example, I like out of the way places where you simply can't take a big rig. Beautiful and remote areas often have small sites or rugged access. I also like unhitch and go to town, visit the local sites, go to the Little Theatre, local farmers markets etc. others have different preferences but in either case, you'll want to know this in advance.